Evaluation of the implementation of Individual Learning Accounts in Britain revealed five themes that may explain the program's lack of success: individualistic approach to adult education, conflict of individualism with partnership, ineffective targeting of low-skilled populations, lack of linkage with a lifelong commitment to learning, and…

This overview of the special issue includes worldwide statistics on women's literacy, women's role in international decision making, and the role of international aid in increasing or decreasing sex bias. (SK)

As a legacy of British colonial rule, Sierra Leone's education system gives half of its budget to higher education, heavily benefits the upper and middle classes and serves the poor and rural populations badly. The illiteracy rate is 85%. Policy recommendations are outlined for resource allocation and major restructuring of the education system.…

National Education Longitudinal Study data were used to examine whether parents' divorce/remarriage or existing family disadvantages caused such outcomes as teens' lower educational attainment or higher rates of parenthood. Neither divorce nor remarriage during a youth's high school years was strongly correlated with preexisting characteristics of…

Interviews with 17 students in Foundation-level General National Vocational Qualifications courses identified their most important issue as moving from disaffection to acceptance as postsecondary students. Relationships with teachers were the most significant factor in building their confidence and overcoming past schooling failure. (Contains 39…

Discusses how supplementary schools in Britain are as much needed now by the black community as they ever were before. The development of African-Caribbean supplementary schooling, some common features of the supplementary school movement and the curriculum it offers, and supplementary school funding are examined, including a brief discussion on…

Claims developmental education has been the central medium of upward social mobility for the American lower and middle classes. Outlines the accomplishments of developmental educators as well as the national trends that bear directly upon the work of developmental educators. (NH)

Explains difference between class size and pupil-teacher ratio. States that terms should not be used interchangeably. Asserts that effective class-size-reduction efforts must include early intervention, duration, and intensity. Reports results of recent studies of the effects of Tennessee Student Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) Project on student…

The rural girls in science program presented a comprehensive model of the entire scientific process. National Science Foundation funded a program, which targeted girls in rural schools serving American Indian or Latina, who are less fortunate than American students of Washington State.

Tracking, the sorting and grouping of students in schools, has been criticized for separating students along race and class lines, re-segregating diverse schools and perpetuating unequal access to a college-bound curriculum. Detracking, a reform in which students are placed intentionally in mixed-ability classes, is an attempt to remedy the…

Schools located within communities experiencing high levels of social dislocation, educational disadvantage and student disengagement from learning are working under "adverse conditions". These schools face particular challenges when it comes to stabilising and sustaining wholeschool change aimed at improving students' learning outcomes.…

Research studies have documented a strong link between perennial high rates of beginning teacher attrition and teacher shortages that impact teaching, especially in the major urban areas of the United States. It is widely concluded that one of the pivotal causes of inadequate school academic performance is a teacher shortage and the resulting…

Because studies reveal a relationship between high student mobility and low academic achievement, school administrators are faced with the challenge of raising academic achievement in an era of increased student mobility. Wide variations in state requirements create additional difficulties for mobile students, who tend to be disadvantaged in other…

Agencies and personnel working with refugees increasingly view schools as a central pillar for providing vital services that assist refugees in their survival and rehabilitation. The schooling of refugees has often been suddenly and violently curtailed by the onset of the emergency situations from which the refugees have fled. Experiences of war…

This paper aims to inform federal education policy by examining Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and two federal efforts to improve teacher quality, the Eisenhower Professional Development Program and the highly qualified teacher provisions of the No Child Left…